3-D

Remember the classic Super Bowl XLII matchup between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants back in 2008? Sure you do. After all, David Tryee's crazy catch in the final minute, trapping a Hail Mary against his helmet, is one of the most amazing and iconic moments in football history.

Now imagine if you could have watched it in 3-D.

Well, the future of football is now one step closer, as Verizon FiOS has announced through PR Newswire that they will be airing the first ever NFL game to be televised in 3-D on Sept. 2. And the match-up? Why, it's the Patriots and the Giants, of course.

The new wave of 3-D televisions offers something for almost everyone: nausea, seizures, cramps, dizziness, muscle-twitching, disorientation and strokes.

By "almost everyone," we mean children, teenagers, pregnant women, people with a family history of epilepsy or stroke, the elderly, people with serious medical conditions and people who drink. Those are among the groups cited in a medical warning posted online by Samsung, one of the manufacturers of the new 3-D TVs.

According to Variety, Comcast is planning to air the upcoming Masters tournament in 3D on its own dedicated channel and website, Masters.com. The tournament, which runs from April 8-11, will be available in 3D for two hours per day to those who own 3D-enabled technology.

Meanwhile, 3D coverage will not be available on ESPN or CBS, which has broadcast the Masters since 1956.

Still, ESPN plans to show the World Cup and NBA games in 3D on a brand-new network, beginning in June. Discovery, Imax and Sony have plans to jointly create a 3-D entertainment channel next year.

Imagine if you will that you have a ticket to the amazing new monolithic football megaplex, Cowboys Stadium, this Sunday to watch the Dallas Cowboys play the San Diego Chargers. It's two probable playoff teams. It's a potential offensive showcase with two strong-armed quarterbacks. It's got everything to recommend it and you have a ticket.

Now, how excited are to learn that you can watch the game in 3D? That's right, when you enter the venue, you'll be handed 3D glasses. The Cowboy-Charger game will then be broadcast on the huge HD screen in 3D. That's the big screen that hangs over the field. Every play will immediately be converted from HD to 3D with some exciting new technology created in Edison, New Jersey. If you're at home, you won't see 3D, but if you're there, you can wear glasses just like these folks in the picture.

Why must Panasonic, Sony, Samsung and that lot constantly develop new technologies in an attempt to break my bank account? First it was things like flat television and high definition. Now, Panasonic is joining the ranks of other television manufacturers to produce a high definition television that can handle both 2D and 3D images. But this time, they're enlisting Hollywood to help them sell it.

The idea is that Hollywood is producing more 3D films and this technology will enable the sale of 3D DVDs. It could even potentially be the feature to push Blu-ray sales to the level of regular DVDs (assuming it's only on Blu-ray).

Do we really need to be able to watch 3D movies at home? It sounds like one of those things that seem extraneous at first then once you have it in the home you have no idea how you lived without it. 3D television has been talked about for years now. We'll have to see if this is the event that pushes it more to the mainstream.

(S02E12) "The cell is mightier than the sword, or the very large knife." -- Chuck

There were some funny bits in this episode of Chuck. There were also some good bits of plot development. Still, for what was being promoted as a spotlight show, including the novelty of 3-D, it's hard for me to sing the praises of tonight's episode. It just left a lot to be desired. What it did leave me with is a headache.

Before getting into the particulars, let's get the 3-D thing out of the way. It was terrible. Joel wrote about this a few days ago, and he was right. The 3-D glasses were cumbersome and lame. They also seemed too dark because instead of the effects popping, they just seemed murky and dim. I give NBC credit for trying to think outside the box, but 3-D is not the answer for how to make TV viewing more exciting. Compared to high-def, 3-D is not awesome, just annoying.

We told you last month about NBC's plan to plug their shows during the Super Bowl game on February 1. Now it turns out that they're also going to show some stuff in 3-D.

Two commercials during the game will be broadcast in 3-D: one is for the new animated movie Monsters vs. Aliens, and the other is another ad for Sobe that features wacky lizards dancing (because last year's ad was so great?). If, however, you're not a fan of commercials but are a fan of wearing red and blue eyewear, you're in luck: the episode of Chuck that airs the night after the game will also be shown in 3-D. You can get the glasses (thanks to Intel) in Sobe displays in supermarkets and other stores.

3-D movies and shows are always disappointing. For every effect that makes you smile, there are 27 that are just really lame. Besides, I think Heroes might be more fun in 3-D. I think it lends itself to 3-D more than a show like Chuck does. We'll probably have these silly scenes of Chuck throwing a cell phone towards the camera or someone suddenly using a javelin.

Here at TV Squad, we often bemoan the quick cancellation of a show that deserves a chance to evolve. We've chronicled the demise of a fan favorite like Moonlight, and empathized with our readers. There have been times when we've agreed that networks spend so much time and talent developing a show that it seems a down-right shame when the plug is pulled after a half-dozen episodes.

So, knowing all that, we have to acknowledge when a network does something right. NBC is bending over backwards to see to it that Chuck becomes a ratings hit, to go along with its already established and growing fan base. Creator Josh Schwartz expressed his thanks to NBC for the post- Super Bowl Chuck episode. The Super Bowl is Sunday, February 1.

"They were doing this big promotion inside of the Super Bowl and handing out 150 million 3-D glasses, so we are the beneficiaries of that. ...Chuck seemed like the best fit for that type of thing."